A study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found that eating lots of vegetables can reduce your risk of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH).
Benign prostate hyperplasia is a non-cancerous condition. The prostate becomes enlarged, causing problems with urine flow. There are three common causes of prostate problems: BPH, prostate cancer, and prostatitis.
The prostate study tracked more than thirty-two thousand male health care workers, and began in 1986. The average age at the start of the study was 51, though participants ranged in age from 46 to 70. The first phase of the study was a food survey: each man was asked how often he ate each of more than one hundred and thirty different foods, including fruits and vegetables. The participants also reported weight, age, ethnicity, physical activity, medical history, and smoking/drinking behaviors. Each participant was asked to update his information every two years.
After 1992 (the sixth year of the study), the men were asked to note any prostate problems or prostate surgeries they had.
By 2000 (the fourteenth year of the study), just over six thousand men reported prostate issues associated with benign prostate hyperplasia. And when the researchers started to correlate the diet data and the health problems, they found that the men who ate the most veggies were 11% less likely to have symptoms of BPH. Fruits didn’t seem to have the same protective power.
Researchers also looked at the impact of certain antioxidants, like beta-carotene, lutein, and vitamin C. Those who got their antioxidants from supplements didn’t fare as well. Only the guys who ate plenty of vegetables reaped the most benefit from the antioxidants!
Vegetables may not single-handled reduce a man’s risk of benign prostate hyperplasia… but they can make a big difference!
More reading on prostate health:
- How to talk to your doctor about your prostate
- Botox may provide prostate relief
- Calculate your risk of prostate cancer
- Natural remedies for prostate problems